TradingKey – On October 28 Eastern Time, SK Hynix (SKHY) surged 12% after releasing its third-quarter financial report. Record revenue and operating profit, coupled with a shareholder return plan that exceeded market expectations, drove investors to re-evaluate its earnings growth and cash return capabilities.

In the third quarter, the company reported revenue of 104.62 trillion Korean won and an operating profit of 83.33 trillion Korean won, up 32% and 38% quarter-on-quarter, respectively, with an operating margin of 79.7%. According to JPMorgan, these two metrics were 7% and 9% above market consensus, respectively.

The beat was mainly driven by memory price hikes and an improved product mix. DRAM average selling prices (ASPs) rose…